SHANGHAI: Expats who need
basic information about the city can now turn to a free hotline offered by the
municipal government.
The Shanghai Call Centre, which was officially launched on Friday, provides
both English and Chinese information about tourist destinations, culture,
sports, trade, medical care and other issues of daily life in Shanghai.
The metropolis leads other big cities in China and sets a good example,
organizers said.
It will also make it easier for expatriates, and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan
citizens, to live in Shanghai.
"I used to have to dial 114," a directory service provided by a Chinese
company, said Patrick Campbell-Dunn, who is in Shanghai on a short-term study
programme.
He said: "It sometimes takes 5 minutes to get the right information."
He said he once tried to get information about a school, but the "114"
operator could not understand him. In the end, he had to turn to a convenience
store for assistance.
Mercedes Gonzalez, director of a Mexican university's Shanghai office, said
such services were convenient and necessary.
"The biggest obstacle in my life in Shanghai is communication. I can't read
anything," she said.
"I can speak a little Chinese, but people here are very shy when answering my
questions," she said.
But the centre local foreigners can get through by dialling 962288, people
outside Shanghai must dial 021962288 and overseas callers need to dial
8621962288 should be able to provide the right information, she said.
She was concerned about whether telephone operators would really be able to
understand what she says because many foreigners, like her, speak English with
an accent.
Nnongha Alban, a Nigerian postgraduate at Fudan University, who was sent to
try the number at the launch ceremony on Friday, relieved her of that worry.
"The service is great and I like it," said the young Nigerian, who asked
about a sports club and was recommended one in the downtown area.
The hotline will run 24 hours a day and seven days a week and is backed by a
group of 12 operators, all graduates with bachelor degrees.
Gu Qi, a graduate of Shanghai International Studies University, now works at
the centre after two weeks' training.
"The information I provide is from a database that is regularly updated," she
said.
She said that during the trial period she answered five calls from Britons
inquiring about residence certificates.
She anticipates that many questions will be related to visas.
With roughly 100,000 permanent foreign residents in the city, Shanghai is
taking steps to present a better international image.
Sponsored by the information office of Shanghai municipality and the foreign
affairs office of Shanghai municipal government, the call centre was set up by
the Wenhui-Xinmin United Press Group.